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While there hasn't been a link between tobacco and Tony Gwynn's death, one of the last things Gwynn did was to be part of an anti-tobacco public service announcement, as NBC 7's Artie Ojeda reports.
(Published Friday, June 27, 2014)

In one of his final acts, baseball great Tony Gwynn tried to make sure his fellow players did not emulate him in one aspect: his addiction to chewing tobacco.

Gwynn took part in an anti-tobacco public service announcement (PSA) -- produced by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society -- before he lost his battle with cancer on June 16.

The PSA will not be released to the public, but later this year, it will be shown to all major and minor league baseball teams.

For the video, Gwynn was too weak to speak, but he contributed a simple and direct message through a statement: “My advice to anyone would be if you aren’t using spit tobacco, please don’t start. And if you are using, try to quit. If not for yourself, then do it for the people you love.”